Chance controlled game apparatus



Oct. 29, 1957 E. BAREZlTHER 2,811,362

CHANCE CONTROLLED GAME APPARATUS Filed Jan. 23. 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. EMFINUEL 5/1351 THEE Oct. 29, 1957 BARElTHER 2,811,362

CHANCE CONTROLLED GAME APPARATUS Filed Jan. 23, 1956 s sheets-sheet 2INVENTOR.

[MHNUEL BARE/THEE,

E. BAREITHER 2,811,362 CHANCE CONTROLLED GAME APPARATUS Filed Jan. 23,1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. EMANUEL .B/IREITHEB 2,811,362PatentedOcL-ZQJ,

CHANCE CONTROLLED GAME APPARATUS Emanuel Bareither, Seattle, Wash.Application January 23, 1956, Serial No. 560,813 1 Claim. 01. 273-142This invention relates to games and it hasreference more particularly tothe provision of a novel formof gameand game device of the parlor andtable top category; itibein g the principal object of the presentinvention .to provide a baseball game device employing a baseball"field. simulating member upon which a ball confining bowl vshapedmember is mounted for spinning about a vertical axis, and vupon theinside surface of which .bowlshaped member the various plays which occuringplaying the game of baseball are inscribed, and which plays areadapted to be individually designated in the playing'of the game by thespinning of the bowl and allowing aball that isconfined therein to cometo reston the inscribed surface.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a game device of thecharacter-above disclosed whereinnovel means is provided for spinningthe bowl, and also novel :meansjisprovided for-causing it to:be suddenlystopped so that the confined ball, which continues to traveLwithin :thebowl, will be uncontrolled :but will finally come to rest on one of theplay designating notationswithin the bowl.

.zFurther objects andiadvantagesiof the invention reside in'l-he detailsof construction of the various parts of the game apparatusrin theircombination with-.ea'ch'other, andinthe mode of operationofthegamedevice. as .will "hereafter-be described.

In accomplishing the above mentioned and .otherobjectsof the-invention,I have provided theimproved;de- "tails of construction, the presentpreferred forms of @which :areillustratedin the accompanying drawingswherein:

.Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a game device. embodied .hythe presentinvention as seen from what-willbe referred :to as the front side.

Fig; 2 is atop or plan view of a portion of the ball con- -fining:bowl,showing-the play designating notationsmade :thereon, andalso showing apart of the. centrally located, peripherallynotched disk. V

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the bowl'spinningrack bar-and itsmounting'and guide member; a part-thereof .being broken away for betterdisclosure of their inter- :fitting relationship.

Fig-4 isv a vertical cross-section taken through-the game :device in theaxial plane of the bowl portion.

:Fig. -5 .is a horizontal section takenon theline 55 in Fig. 4, showingthe bowl spinning rack barand gear.

with which it is adapted to be meshed.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the base, showing the bowl stoppinglever and its mounting means.

Fig. 7 isone of the pegs usedin playing the-game.

,Fig. 8 is a-flattened view of thebowl-surface showing .the.playdesignating notations as appliedthereto.

.Refern'ng more in detail to thedrawings:

The present game device, as shownbest in Fig. 1, com- ,prises a flatbaseboard or plate 10, preferablysquare-in horizontal dimensions andpreferablyrelativelythin, and equipped on its underside, at its fourcorners, with supporting buttons of rubber, or the like designated bynumeral 10'. Mounted centrally on the base for axial spinning, is canupwardly facing bowl shaped ,--member .1-,1;;this being fixed upon theupperend portion of a tubular hub 12 coaxial thereof and which,.in,turn, is mounted for rotation about a vertical bolt 13 that extendsupwardly i2 from and is fixed in the baseboard 10. Itis shownt-in Fig. 4that'the bolt 13. has a flattened head :13 atits lower end engagedflatly against the under face-of. boa-rd 10, andhas a nut 13x threadedontoits shankv'and-ltightened against the top surface ofthe board, thusto secure the bolt rigidly upright. The lower end of :the hub member 12rests upon the nut, but is adapted'to spin freely thereon, .-andsupports the bowl membervllxsomewhat above the baseboard as shown inFig. '4, fora purpose presently apparent.

The bowl member 11 is enclosed by a cylindrical 'IhOHS- ing 14 mountedin the baseboard 10. This housing is slightly greater in diameter thanthe bowl andIis closed .at its upper end by a transparent plate ;15which closely overlies the=rim of the-bowl. If desired,'thehousing:14may be of transparent plastic, colored or otherwise for ornamentation,but it isprefer'red that theplater15 :be ,sufficiently transparent asnot to interfere with clear'view of-the.-notations inscribed onthe-inside'surface .of the bowl, and the position of the ball whichiscontained-in the bowl.

Fixed to the central inside surface of the bowl, whichissubstantiallyfiat, is a -flat disk .18 through whichth'e upper endportion of thebolt-1-3 extendsasseen -in Fig. -4. Acap nuti19 isthreaded ontothe upper endaofithe bolt for the purpose of retainingthe-bowl in place :but without interference to its rotation or spinning.As' shown bestrinFigs. 1, .2 and -4, the:peripheral edge of;.the disk-18 is formed with contiguous notches 20, of -cylindrical curvature, -,or.V shaped, and radiating from the joining edges of these notches arelines, such as designated Eat-52:1 in Fig. .2, which extendto.theoutenperiphery:ofthetbowl. These'lines-sset otf-surface-areasbetween them, r-a'dialtof the bowl, on which .the:play,notations areinscribed, such as, for example, Struck Out, Base Hit, .Walk', Strikeand :other plays which are typical of therg'ame of baseball. V

The walls of the bowlcurvegradually upwardlfromithe disk: and: finallyprovide .the ,verti'cal rim portion, tithe :ttop surface ofwwhichisquitecloseztorthe plateI15.

Contained freely in the bowl is-a .smallimetalpellet, 'ordJall.I25,-about-' of an-inch in diameter. rNormall-y thisk ball willrest against-thezperiphery of ;t 'e disk .2128 when the bowland ball areat rest,'but when the bowl is spun'in;.play, the ball spins therewithnndmoves -rby centrifugal force .to its outer 1 edge, :andf then if zthebowl is suddenly stopped,'the ball will continue-to'travehabout thebowlzand'finally cometo rest'in oneofzthezperipheral .notches.20 ofthedisk, :thus to .designateithe .play that :has :just takenplace; it beingunderstood that me tplay is that vwhichislnoted on athe radial.area'thattis zaligned with the :notch in which the ball 25..comestorrest. The means for spinning the disk bowlandtforrthenzsudwdenly-sto'ppingdt has been shown best inxFigs. 1iandsi, and will :now be described. First, the bowl spinning means:Thisteomprises a relatively small ;gear i.that

is fixed ,on oriformed'integral with the hub member 12uponxwhichthe'bowl is :fixed. :Fixedly mounted (on the -baseboard :10,ztorextend beneath the bowl,iis a:'straight channeled guide bar31.in"which a rackbarifizisimounted fori-endwise travel. The guide bardssozrelated to .the:.bowl .and ithe hub gear :thatiits teeth 32x, formed:on the rack bar along one side of its inner end portionifcan be engaged'with the :teeth "of gear 30 :for ithe :manual .rotationzor spinning :oftheibowl. i

ydtiis tozbeobservedby reference to Fig. l thattthe guide hat. .311extends :from beneath *the bowl :tosnear therfront right handcornertportionaof ithet baseboard F10,T:'3Hd -the.=-rack-bar; 32 isegu'ippedrat-its .outeiaend withvasvertieal .pin. 33 servingaas-itsoperating {handle andatd-ts, inner; end :haszashort stop stud.-34thereon. The extent ofdnward movement of the rack bar is limited by theengaging of the pin 33 with the outer end of an inturned flange 31" gear30. Then, it is pulled quickly outwardly, thus causing its teeth,meshing with the teeth of gear wheel 30, to spin the bowl. When the rackbar reaches its outer limit,

its teeth disengage the gear. This spinning will cause the ball 25 tomove to the outer periphery of the bowl, being restrained by the glassor transparent cover plate 15, and to move to more or less extent withthe bowl.

The means provided for suddenly stopping the spinning bowl is shown bestin Figs. 5 and 6. It comprises a short lever 40 disposed beneath thebowl and pivotally supported on the base in a position radial of the hub12 'by a mounting plate 42. This plate is equipped with two laterallyspaced, vertical ears 4242 between which the lever 40 is mounted by ahorizontal pivot pin 44. At its inner end, the lever 40 is equipped witha brake pad '45 and at its outer end has a flattened head 46 againstwhich downward pressure maybe manually applied to cause the pad toengage against the under surface of the bowl to stop its rotation.Normally the stopping lever .40 rests in the position in which it isshown in Fig. 6.

It is to be observed more particularly by reference to Fig. 5, that thebowl enclosing housing 14 is recessed. as at 47 for the passage of therack guide and rack bar, and also at 48 to receive the outer end portionof lever 40 therethrough.

To simulate a baseball playing field on the baseboard 10, I provide therepresentation of first, second, third and home bases 50, 51, 52 and 53,joined by the base lines 54. At each base, the board is formed with abored peg receiving socket 55 and near the home base area, it islikewise formed with three bored sockets 56, each designed to receive aplay piece in the form of a pin or peg such as shown at 60 in Fig. 7.

The dimensions of the parts 10 and 11 of the present game device are notcritical and may be varied within reasonable limits. However, it hasbeen found quite satisfactory to employ a wooden baseboard twelve inchessquare and one-half inch thick. The bowl member may also be of wood, andis approximately six inches in diameter and approximately two inchesdeep. The disk 18 contained in the bowl has a diameter of about twoinches and is one/fourth inch thick. The housing 14 is shown to becylindrical, but not necessarily so.

Various materials may be used in the making of the various parts of thegame device. While it has herein 'been indicated that the base 10 is ormay be of wood, it is recognized that it might also be a molded plasticmember, suitable for the present use,.and that the means for mountingthe rack bar 32 and stop lever might be cast integral with the base. Theguide and rack bar, and also the stop lever might also be quitesatisfactorily made of plastic, fiber, wood or other suitable metal. 'Inview of the above, it is not my intent to confine the making of theapparatus to any particular material or materials. Any suitablematerials may be employed so long as their use is practical and alsoeconomical.

Assuming that the various parts are so constructed, the game device isused in the playing of the game as follows:

The game is best played by at least two persons, respec- *tively,representing two baseball teams. To start play, the first player graspsthe handle member 33 and pushes the rack bar 32 all the way, or a partof the way, inward- 1y thus engaging its toothed surface with the bowlspinning gear 30. He then gives it'a quick outward pull to its fulllimit causing the bowl to be spun. This move- ;ment disengages the rackfrom the gear and the bowl 4 spins freely about bolt 13. With thisspinning, the confined ball 25 moves to the outer rim of the bowl and tomore or less extent spins with the bowl. Then, while the 'bowl isspinning, the player pushes down on the outer end of the bowl stop lever40 and thus suddenly stops the spinning action of the bowl; the ball,however, continues to travel and gradually slows down and comes to restin a notch of the disk 18. The play notation which is aligned with thisnotch is the players play. For example, if the ball comes to rest in anotch which indicates a one base hit, a peg 60 is inserted in the firstbase hole. It the ball should stop in a notch indicating a right fieldhigh fly catch, the imaginary batter is thus counted out, and anotherpeg is inserted in one of the three holes 55. Various plays in the fieldare thus indicated and marked on the field by applying or removing pegsfrom the bases. Whenever all three holes are pegged, the inning is thenover, and the player or players representing the other team take overfor the spinning of the bowl. A score card may be kept as in the realgame of baseball if desired to keep account of the entire game.

Games of this kind are interesting, educational and can be played byvarious numbers to players representing two teams.

It is recognized that details of construction of parts might be changedor modified without departing from the spirit of the invention whichresides in the combination of base 10, and bowl 11 as shown, togetherwith its spinning and stopping means and the play designating ball orpellet.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A game device of the character described comprising a base plate, apivot bolt fixed centrally therein and extended vertically upwardtherefrom, an upwardly facing bowl-like container, equipped with acoaxial, downward- 'ly extended, hub revolu'bly applied to said bolt formounting the bowl for spinning action, said hub having a gear formedthereon beneath the bowl, a rack 'bar guide ap plied to the top of saidbase plate, a rack bar mounted in said guide for endwise shiftingtherein, a handle member on the bar for its manual actuation, means onthe bar for limiting its travel in opposite directions; said rack barhaving teeth formed along a portion thereof adapted to be meshed withthe hub gear for imparting spinning action to the bowl, by the manualshifting of the rack bar, a lever pivotally mounted between its ends onthe base member substantially radially of the pivot bolt, having a brakepad at its inner end adapted to be pressed upward- 'ly against thebottom of said bowl-like container by an application of downwardpressure against the outer end of the lever, thus to stop the spinningof the bowl, a disklike member in the bowl, centrally of its bottomsurface formed with a succession of peripheral notches; said bowl havingplay notations inscribed on its inside surface in areas extendingradially in the bowl in alignment with said notches, and a ball confinedin the bowl and adapted to roll freely on the inside surface to come torest in anyone of said notches.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,409,029 Riordan Mar. 7, 1922 1,474,488 Nelson Nov. 20, 1923 1,522,7147 Dietze Ian. 13, 1925 1,561,421 Erickson Nov. 10, 1925 1,670,692 RosarMay 22, 1928 1,741,903 Amend Dec. 31, 1929 2,118,359 Quinn May 24, 1938FOREIGN PATENTS 36,121 Germany July 14, 1886 18,112 Great Britain 1906 j271,674- Switzerland Feb. 1, 1951

